Shock-absorber for vehicles.



R. TJADER. SHOCK ABSORBER FOR VEHICLES. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 21, 1913.

Patented Aug. 5, 1913.

q/yi/imeooeo m. a

.actel'. which "only to the vehicle when in course of con- RICHARD TJ'ADER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

SHOCK-ABSORBER FOR VEHICLES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 5, 1913.

Application filed March 21, 1913. Serial No. 756,025.

'1'0 all whom. it may concern:

Be it known that l. RICHARD- .laapen; of ork, have invented a set t'orth in the following specification.

' This invention relates to shock-absorbers for vehicles such as automobiles, and has for its object to provide a device of this charmay be readily applied, notstruction, but also to vehicles already constructcd, withouthriy material alteration thereof.

A further object is to provide a shockabsorber which may be cheaply manufactured, but which shall, atthe-salne time, be eflieient. in absorbing, not only the. direct shock due to running over any unevenness in the road, but also to absorb or neutralize the rebound due to the yielding action of the springs when any sudden unevenness in the road is encountered.

' With these objects in view, the invention consists, broadly stated, in a bell-crank le' \er pivoted to the axle of the vehicle, with one arm extending approximately in a horizontal direction, am the other one dependiug on one side of the axle, the weight of the body of the vehicle being imposed upon the horizontal arm of the bell-crank lever,

while the lower or depending arm of the 'belhcrank lever is provided with yielding .neans acting on opposite sides thereof and in opposition to each other, one of said sets of means offering greater resistance to the movement of the bell-crank lever in one direction than 'does the other set of means in [the opposite direction.

Preferably, there are four of these bell-crank levers, one at each side of the machine on the front axle, and one at each side of the machine on the rear axle, and when desired, these bel-- crank levers may be of a compound or double character, forming, as it were, a forked bell-crank lever which straddles the axle, and has suitable hearings in a plate bolted to the top of the axle. In the case of an automobile, the springs of the automobile may and preferably are, bolted to a block rocking in bearings at the outer ends of the bell-crank levers, so that the connection of the mechanism of ti. body of the vehicle I \viththe bell-crank levers. while very strong, i is nevertheless flexible. E The yielding means acting on the depending arms of the bell-crank lever may be any i suitable cushioning device. such as a coiled spring or a piston playing in a cylinder containing air or oil, or it may be any other well-known cushioning device.

The inventive idea involved may be inbodied in a variety of mechanical structrating the invention, is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a front elevation of an auto mobile, with my shock-absorber applied thereto; Fig. 2- is a broken plan view-of a detailfFig. 3 is a perspective view of one of the bell-crank levers; Fig. 4 i perspective view of a block through whieli the body (if the vehicle is secured to thobell-crank lever; and Fig. 5 is a perspectiveview of the bearing plate for the bell-crank lever.

Referring to the drawings, 1 is an axle (here shown as the front axle of an automobile). 9., 2 (see Fig. 5), are bearing plates, secured as by bolts to the axle 1, and provided with an upturned h1g3 having a bearing 4 .therein for the fulcrum pin 5 of a bell-crank lever having approximately horizontally-extcnding arms 6 and vertically-depending arms 7. Preferably, this bell-crank lever is of double or compound construction, as shown in Fig. 3, with a depending arm in front and one to the rear straddles the axle, as it were, though this compound construction is not essential.

A metal block 8 is pivoted between the two horizontal arms (5 of the compound bellcrank lever, by means of a pivot pin 9 passing through openings 10, 10, in the horizontal arms of the bell-crank lever, and through abearing opening 11 in the block- 8. Any suitable part of the body of the vehicle may be secured to this pivoted weight-receiving block, and as here shown the lower portion of the spring 12 is secured to the block by bolts 13. v

.A collar 14 is secured to the middle portion of the axle 1, and is provided with a rearwardly extending pin 15 anda for wardly extendi' similar pin 16. A rod 17 l is provided with a forked end 18 pivoting of the axle, sothat. the compound l ver tin-es, one of which. for the purpose of illus-' on the pin 16, while a corresponding rod 19 is pivoted on said pin 1% between the forks ofsgf the' i'od 17. T e construction just described refers-to that on the. front of the axle, and is in every waysimilarto that on the rear of the axle," where rods 20 and 21 are pivoted. on the pin 15, the several rods a forming abutments between which and the hlock25 on each of said rods is a spring 27, while between the washers 23 and said block 25 is a much more powerful spring (one on ,each rod) 28.

In the normal operation of the device,

the 'weight of the vehicle, such as an auto-- mobile, for example, is carried, throughits springs 12, by the plates 8, and this tends to rock the bell-crank levers on their fulcrums 5 and to compress the springs 28. In traveling over the road, even slight unevenness will be readily taken up by the spring action or resistance, not only in the springs 12 of the vehicle, but the springs 28 of the shock-absorber. But upon striking any markedunevenness, the shock will be absorbed very largely by the springs 28 of the absorber, and the reboun d or result-v ant reaction of the springs 28 arid of the I springs 12 will be checked or neutralized by the springs 27 While I have here shown the bell-crank lever as a compound lever straddling the axle of the vehicle, such compound construction is not essential, since a simple bellcrank lever may be' used ifpdesirad.

The springs 27 and 28 are shown merely as an illustration of any suitable yielding means, and as intimatedabove, any other suitable or desirable yielding or shock-absorbin devices .may be substituted therefor.

One of the particular advantages of my shock-absorber as thus described is the facility with which it may beapplied to structures such as automobiles after they are built, instead of being a'ppliedduring the recess of construction, it only being necessay, to elevate thesprings 12 of the autoi o ilc and insert the shock-absorber therender, and secure the springs of the automobile to the bearing blocks 4, as illustrated.

Changes maybe made in thesp ecifie form,

proportion andrelative arrangement of the parts, without departing from the spirit of -my invention, the essentials ofthe invention bein thefeatures defined in "the claims whidh follow.

These rods have on their extreme" What I claim is 1. In a vehicle,-an axle, a bell-crank lever pivoted thereto, means connecting the body oi? the vehicle to one arm of said lever, a rod pivoted to said axle and to the other coiiperating with the said rod and acting on the latter arm of said lever and in opposition to each other. 7 s

2. In a vehicle, an axle having a fulcrumbearing thereon, a bell-crank lever turning on said fulcrum and having an approximately horizontal arm, means pivotally securing the body of the vehicle to said arm, a

rod pivoted at one end to the axle and intermediate its ends to the depending arm otthe bell-cranlc lever, a heavy coiled spring on said rod on one side of said depending lever arm, and a lighter-spring on said rod on the other side of said lever arm.

3. In a 'vehicle,-an axle, acompound bellerank lever straddling said axle and fulcrumed thereon, a pair of rods pivoted at one end to said axle and pivotally connected to the depending arm of said bell crank lever intermediate the endsof said rods, and coiled springs on said rods the springs thereon on one 'side of said lever arms beingmore powerful than those on the other side.

, 4. In a vehicle, an axle, a compound bellcrank lever, a bearing plate on which said lever is fulcrumed, means securing said Plate arm of said lever, and sets of yielding means to said axle, a block-pivoted to said coinpound lever, means securing the body of the vehicle to said block, a pair of rods pivoted to the depending arms of said compound lever intermediate the ends of-the rods and pivoted at one end of each of said rods tothe axle, a strongspring on each of said rods on one side of said lever, and a lighter spring on the other side thereof.

5. In a vehicle, an axle, a bell-crank lever fulcrumed thereon, a block pivoted to said lever, means securing the body of the vehicle to said block, a rod pivoted to the depending arm of said lever intermediate the ends of the rod, said rod being pivoted at one of its ends to the axle, a strong spring on said rod on one side otsaidlever, and} lighter spring on the other side thereof; ,1

6. In a vehicle, anaxle, two rods pivoted to said axle intermediateits 'ends and ex tending laterally toward the ends of the axle, two bell-crank; levers hilcrumed on said axle one adjacent to each end thereof, eachof the; depending arms of said bellcrank levers Boeing pivotally and slidably connected respectively to one of said rods intermediate the ends of the" rods, a strong spring on each of said rods,on one side of the respective levers, and a lighter spring on the other side thereof, and means connecting the body of .the vehicle ';with the approxi- 7. In a vehicle, an axle, a bell-crank lever In testimony whereof I have signed this pivoted thereto, means connecting the body specification in the presence of two subscrib- 10 of the vehicle to one arm of said lever, a rod I ing Witnesses. pivoted at one end to said axle and interme- 5 diai'e its ends to the other arm of said lever,

and yielding means cooperating With said Witnesses: rod and arranged on each side of the last- C. A. L. MAssm, named arm of said lever. RALPH L. SCOTT;

RICHARD TJADER. 

